Release city’s 5% calamity fund, says Committee on Rules

By LITO RULONA,
Correspondent

THIS city’s committee on law and rules is asking the executive department to release funds to augment relief operations of fire survivors in Barangay Camaman-an and to take this from the city’s five percent calamity fund.

Committee chairman Ramon Tabor asked for the additional funds after hearing reports that village chair Pedro Arda has stopped relief efforts due to shortage of funds.

“There is no other reason that the city government cannot release funds. Barangay funds were not enough. Dili sila makahatag og financial assistance tungod kay gamay ra ilang budget. Unya murag nahurot na,” he said.

He said the calamity funds can be released immediately especially when the affected area is already declared as a calamity area by the city and barangay council. After the relief operation is the financial assistance to the total and partially damaged houses during the fire.

“Dili na unta mangita og lusot nga didto pa kuhaon sa emergency shelter program nga naa ma’y klaro nga calamity funds. Unsa may gamit sa calamity funds kung moadto pa kita sa lain nga program,” he pointed out.

Tabor said the emergency shelter program was not even approved by the city council. He called the program as a duplication program of the calamity fund.

“Five percent of the entire budget is already a mandate by law nga naa na gyud na siya. Magamit immediately kung dunay kalamidad sama sa sunog og baha. All they have to do is justify the use of the funds,” he stressed.

Earlier, City Mayor Oscar Moreno created the Task Force Camaman-an to focus on the shelter efforts for the nearly 200 families who lost their homes during the Valentine’s Day fire at Pinikitan in Barangay Camaman-an.

City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD) Officer Teddy Sabuga-a claimed that the main purpose of the task force is to allocate funds for the possible shelter after they delivered the  relief operations.

The task force is composed of representatives from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), Task Force Shelter, City Engineering Office (CEO), barangay local government unit of Camaman-an, Urban Basak Association, and City Assessor’s Office and others.